WVC 23 - 2 - 15
§23-2-15. Liabilities of successor employer; waiver of payment by
commission; assignment of predecessor employer's
premium rate to successor.
(a) At any time prior to or following the acquisition
described in subsection (a), (b) or (c), section fourteen of this
article, the buyer or other recipient may file a certified petition
with the commission requesting that the commission waive the
payment by the buyer or other recipient of premiums, premium
deposits, interest and imposition of the modified rate of premiums
attributable to the predecessor employer or other penalty, or any
combination thereof. The commission shall review the petition by
considering the following seven factors:

(1) The exact nature of the default;

(2) The amount owed to the commission;

(3) The solvency of the fund;

(4) The financial condition of the buyer or other recipient;

(5) The equities exhibited towards the fund by the buyer or
other recipient during the acquisition process;

(6) The potential economic impact upon the state and the
specific geographic area in which the buyer or other recipient is
to be or is located, if the acquisition were not to occur; and

(7) Whether the assets are purchased in an arms-length
transaction.

Unless requested by a party or by the commission, no hearing
need be held on the petition. However, any decision made by the commission on the petition shall be in writing and shall include
appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law. The decision
shall be effective ten days following notice to the public of the
decision unless an objection is filed in the manner provided in
this section. Notice shall be given by the commission's filing
with the secretary of state, for publication in the state register,
of a notice of the decision. At the time of filing the notice of
its decision, the commission shall also file with the secretary of
state a true copy of the decision. The publication shall include
a statement advising that any person objecting to the decision must
file, within ten days after publication of the notice, a verified
response with the commission setting forth the objection and the
basis for the objection. If any objection is filed, the commission
shall hold an administrative hearing, conducted pursuant to article
five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, within fifteen days of
receiving the response unless the buyer or other recipient consents
to a later hearing. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
to be applicable to the seller or other transferor or to affect in
any way a proceeding under sections five and five-a of this
article.

(b) In the factual situations set forth in subsection (a), (b)
or (c), section fourteen of this article, if the predecessor's
modified rate of premium tax, as calculated in accordance with
section four of this article, is greater than the manual rate of
premium tax, as calculated in accordance with that section, for other employers in the same class or group, and if the new employer
does not already have a modified rate of premium, it shall also
assume the predecessor employer's modified rates for the payment of
premiums as determined under sections four and five of this article
until sufficient time has elapsed for the new employer's experience
record to be combined with the experience record of the predecessor
employer so as to calculate the new employer's own modified rate of
premium tax.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
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